Psycho Love

17

Blood Love. I have heard of them before. It is definitely no Black Wolves, but Blood Love is known for being the most violent, blood thirsty gangs in the country. they have left bodies from Brisbane to Adelaide with their symbol burned into their victims. every time the news is on there is always a new story about some poor person that has been found murdered, but as far as i know the cops can't figure out who the boss is.

"If my father was such a "wanted commodity", why did Blood Love kill him?" My brain is struggling to process this new information. It doesn't make sense to me. If he was so good at his job, then why kill him? Why would they go through so much effort for one man?

"The file that we are searching for contains some very important information. It is something that your father was working on for me. It was out of the bounds of his job as an accountant, but your father was a very talented man. He was especially gifted at digging up information that people didn't want found."

"So, it's a blackmail file?" i state bluntly.

"No. it's not a blackmail file."

"You aren't giving me much to go on here. How am I meant to help or better yet, trust you people, when you won't tell me what I am meant to me looking for?" I am sick of this shit. I am over being kept in the dark. My father lied to me my whole life and now these men sit in front of me with all the answers to my questions and they won't share them.

Derek and Caden share a look. It looks as if they are having a telepathic conversation, when finally, Derek nods his head and Caden turns to me again. "It isn't a blackmail file Ember. That file has confidential information about the Black Wolves and all our rival gangs, as much as Richard could dig up on them anyway. It has account numbers, shell companies, names of members, inside people in law enforcement. Not to mention the Black Wolves buyer and suppliers. Simply put, princess, it is a trump card. One that can be used against us, but also against our rivals."

"Oh. Is that all?" I joke. Holy shit! It's no wonder they want this file back, it literally has all the information a person would ever need to completely destroy the Black Wolves.

"What makes you think Ember's dad hid the file somewhere? Couldn't someone else have stolen it?" Trey speaks up.

"It is possible, but highly unlikely. Richard didn't tell anyone where he hid it, and there is a reason for that. When he proved to be an asset, I gave him the documents I had on hand about the Black Wolves. No one knew Richard's identity, so I figured he was the safest option. After a while he started gathering information about other gangs. I believe that is why he was targeted. He knew too much about too many people." Derek replies. "Ember. I am telling you all of this so that you understand how vital it is that we find that file. It is literally Richard's life's work." He has such a trustworthy face, that I almost forget who he is.

Everything is happening so fast. How could this all be happening? How is it possible that I didn't know any of this? How could Dad have kept me in the dark for so long? Because of his stubbornness, I am left to pick up the pieces and fix this shit. Thanks Dad.

I can feel my heartrate start to spike as my anxiety kicks up. My hands start to sweat as I continue to furiously rub my pendant between my fingers. I can't breathe. I need space. Suddenly this huge penthouse seems so small. I am starting to panic as the walls feel like they are starting to close in around me and the voices of the men talking become muffled the sound of my blood pumping in my ears. I squeeze my eyes shut and try to calm myself.

It is not working! 

I can't breathe! 

I can't calm down!

Why can't I calm down? 

Two hands grab me and spin me in my chair, causing my eyes to snap open. Caden. His bright eyes are level with mine and he gently grabs my hands from my necklace, covering them with his own. He doesn't say a word. He just continues to stare at me, breathing in and out. I focus on his eyes and try to match my breathing with his. As i stare into Caden's eyes, everything else melts away. I can't hear my heartbeat anymore. I am not in the penthouse, surrounded by strangers. I feel as though nothing can touch me.

I'm ripped out of this serene moment, when a large hands lands on my shoulder and shakes me. I instantly look down at my hands, which are still being cradled by Caden's rough, calloused ones.

"Emmy? Are you ok?" Trey asks, clearly worried about me. I nod my head and shoot him a small smile and turn back to Caden.

"How...? Thankyou." I say in bewilderment. I have never been able to stop a panic attack, especially when something triggers me that severely, but somehow, he did. "Anytime, princess." Caden gives me a smile and winks, which makes me blush a little bit.

"I think that is enough for one day, father." Caden stands and faces his dad. They are so formal with each other. It doesn't feel as though a father and son are talking so much as an employer to an employee.

"You are right. I have an important meeting to get to anyway. Ember, I am so sorry to drop such a bombshell on you and leave, but I do hope that I can see you again soon. I would love to get to know you better." He stands from his seat at the table and comes over to me, grabbing my hand. "You look so much like them. Truely beautiful." He cups my hand again in his own and gives it a gentle shake before letting go. After that he walks to the elevator, leaving the 4 of us still in the dining room.

"Well boss, we should get going as well. We have that... thing to do." Tanner gives Caden a look, obviously not wanting to say the details of their errand aloud.

"Of course." Caden replies, looking between Trey and I. Finally, his eyes land on Trey and his jaw tightens, ever so slightly. "How about you join us, Trey? It seems one of my men has disappeared," He raises his eyebrows knowingly causing Trey to awkwardly adjusts his hat under Caden's gaze, "so I'm needing an extra pair of hands. Plus, I'm sure Ember wouldn't mind having some time alone after all of that." 

After about 30 minutes and a lot of convincing on my part Trey, Caden and Tanner step into the elevator, leaving me alone in the penthouse with only my thoughts and the files to keep me company. 

This is not how I thought this morning was going to go. My head hurts because of all the information Derek just dropped on me, not that I regret him telling me. There is just so much about my father that I don't know; so much that he lied to me about. I always thought he was just this boring accountant. I didn't know what company he worked for, but I didn't really care, because he was just an accountant. Now I find out that he not only worked for the Black Wolves but was best friends with the leader for decades. I should've known that. 

It's not like I can tell him that now. I remind myself. I can't tell him how angry and hurt I feel about being kept in the dark of all of these years. I can't tell him because he was murdered. Murdered because he worked for the Black Wolves. 

I slowly make my way over to the files that are neatly stacked on the floor in the corner of the room. I need to find this file. It was the reason dad was killed and who knows, maybe it even has the name of the fucker that killed mum and dad. The files have been split up, separating the files that have been sorted from the ones that we are yet to go through, so I take a huge stack from that pile and spread the across the floor. It's so much easier to go through the files now that I know exactly what I am looking for. I have no idea why Caden and his father even let Trey and I look at these files. They are full of information that if leaked to the cops could put more than half of their gang members in prison for life. There are full reports about jobs that members have done, the casualties that were involved and the money that has been wired to their families - I am guessing to keep them quiet so they don't go to the cops or something like that. Although in the reports they are under the title of "Family Compensation". 

Derek really must have trusted my dad to let him in on all of this and because of Dad I guess now he trusts me. 

After an hour of looking through files and stacking them on top of the sorted pile, I reach over to a file labelled, "HOLY GRAIL". It only has one page inside it. It has an address written in the centre of the single page. I quickly grab my phone and punch in the address. A bank. Under the address is the name Arthur King, and everything just falls into place. This is where I can find the file.